Lite-On is about to ship next month what it claims to be the world's first 20x DVD writer with SATA interface. The LH-20A1S can handle all the major DVD and CD recordable and rewriteable formats, including dual-layer media. The drive comes with 1.5Gbps SATA interface, compatible with boards that support both that and the 3Gbps SATA II specification. Lite-on said the LH-20A1S will ship mid-February for around £32.Source: TheRegister

newtekie1 said:If this comes in black and isn't grossly overpriced compared to IDE drives of the same speed I might pick one up. I guess it will be nice to get rid of my last ribbon cable in my machine.

It would be cheaper to manufacture, so probably around the same price.

it seems that newegg is nearly out of all the decent sata cd/dvd drives at the moment. I also did some comparing and found the Plextor appealing. However, the drive posted by xylomn is not available at newegg and I am having a bit of time finding it in the states.

EastCoasthandle said:it seems that newegg is nearly out of all the decent sata cd/dvd drives at the moment. I also did some comparing and found the Plextor appealing. However, the drive posted by xylomn is not available at newegg and I am having a bit of time finding it in the states.

Newegg do have the same model that xylomn (SH-S183A) has (well almost). The only difference is that this one has the Light Scribe technology in it, it's also the one that i've been waiting for here in the UK, but i cant find it anywhere :(

Spiffy, Im assuming this still uses the 4 pin molex plug for the device. Id like to get all SATA devices to keep it cable clean and less dust bunny attracters. IDE hasnt failed me though. Now, if they can make an SATA Floppy drive, we will be in business :)

Rosco said:Newegg do have the same model that xylomn (SH-S183A) has (well almost). The only difference is that this one has the Light Scribe technology in it, it's also the one that i've been waiting for here in the UK, but i cant find it anywhere :(

As long as this thing has silent operation I'm down. My (at the time) expensive Plextor 708A is barely audible during burning, and installation. I picked up one of the cheap alternatives, an NEC drive (that everyone raves about), and it sounds like a jet taking off when it spins up. Plextor may be expensive, but I guess you get what you pay for. Sound is much quieter, tray operation is much smoother, rips cd's much faster.

Hearing Plextor is staying in business is the best news of the week. I'm hoping this Liteon is inline with them.